East June Rainfall: What a Difference a Year Makes

It turns out the grass is greener on the other side - the Eastern side of the country, that is. While drought was building over a large part of the West, in the East, it has been just the opposite.

It's barely mid-June, and stretching from New York City all the way to Charleston, S.C., the average total rainfall amounts for the entire month of June have already been surpassed. In fact, in comparison to this day in June last year, the eastern U.S. is averaging above their normal precipitation to date, compared to last year at this time.

Saturated grounds are changing the color of the grass to a healthy green, compared to the brown and yellow colors that blanketed the East last year. Most crops are healthy and grass is growing at a swift pace. Reservoirs are filling up and lake activities are no longer stifled by low water levels.

Record Setting Precipitation

If records were to be taken this very day, several Eastern cities would already be in the books for one of the wettest Junes.

Philadelphia has already achieved its ninth-wettest June and New York City has its seventh-wettest June on record.

This trend of above-average precipitation is not just confined to the Northeast, however. Southern cities such as Atlanta, Raleigh, N.C., and Charleston, S.C., are on track to be in the top 10 wettest Junes as well.

The records are being set with June reaching the halfway mark.

As of June 11, much of the East Coast has already achieved one and a half times its total rainfall for the month, compared to receiving less than half of its monthly expected rainfall last year. Orlando has already reached its normal rainfall for the entire month. Philadelphia and New York City have almost doubled their typical June rainfall.

Tropical Storm Andrea has played a big role in the June rainfall departures. Flood warnings and watches ran rampant along the East Coast as small streams flooded nearby cities and towns. For sports enthusiasts, many events were postponed due to heavy rain. Major League Baseball games were rained out in New York City and Boston as well as the NCAA baseball series opening game in Chapel Hill, N.C.

This coming weekend, the US Open in Philadelphia will face soggy conditions as the golfers tee off.

Can We Put Away the Umbrellas Yet?

As if Tropical Storm Andrea hasn't caused enough wetness for the major cities of Washington D.C., Philadelphia and New York City, all the ingredients are coming together for another rainfall event.

Severe weather will accompany the heavy rainfall in parts of the Northeast as the system moves in from the Midwest Wednesday night into Thursday night. Accuweather.com meteorologists believe that this system will bring heavy rainfall along with damaging winds, large hail and perhaps even tornadoes across south-central Pennsylvania into Philadelphia.

As if the ground was not wet enough, this heavy rainfall will increase the likelihood for localized flooding incidents across the East. Portions of New England, Pennsylvania, southern New York state, New York City, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia are all subject to flooding.

Not every location is wetter this June, compared to last June. Parts of New England and Florida have been experiencing drier conditions this year. Portland, Maine, had almost double the average amount of monthly rainfall at this time last year compared to this year. Miami, Fla., also followed the trend of decreased rainfall amounts.

The odds are against another tropical storm making its way up the Atlantic Seaboard during most of the remainder of the month, but rounds of drenching thunderstorms may continue as they move in from the Midwest.